"Wake up."
Raphael's eye snapped open as his hand flashed up. Circling the soft neck of the being beside him, he pinned it to the metal of the wall across the room. A snarl was already on his lips as he blinked the sleep away from his eye and got his vision to focus. When he saw the small blonde, her green eyes wide, almost scared, staring back at him, Raph yanked his hand back and scooted away.
"Shit… I…. You shouldn't wake me up like that!" He rubbed the back of his head, his features flushing as he averted his gaze. "Just throw something at me or… somethin'."
Jack was rubbing her neck, giving him a small smile as he did his best to apologize. "I'll have to remember that." She moved past him tugging on the strap of his mask as she moved past, forcing his head to jerk a bit. "Cheer up, Grumpy. No harm, no foul." She sat down in the driver's seat and started the car up heading off towards the swamps.
Raph's head followed her tug as she pulled on the bandana. He frowned until she let go and started driving. But his eyes on her made him hesitate, he couldn't even come up with some witty response. Her hair was down now, haloing her face. She had changed and gotten herself ready for the day while Raphael was still sleeping. His eyes drifted down to the black tee shirt that hugged her small form, sweeping over the curve of her chest and down the smoothness of her stomach to the belt of her pants. He had to shake his head and look away. What was he doing? He had never really found himself staring at a woman like that before. It was one thing for Leo to find a girl, hell, Raph even expected Mikey and Don to find someone if they ever left the sewer again. But him, find someone? Never…. Yet here he was staring at a girl he was, for all intense and purposes, trapped with.
He cleared he throat and straightened out his bandana, readjusting the strap for his eye patch as well. "So how long till we get to this place?" He asked.
"It'll be a few hours. We have to get past the city limits and then out into the boonies. " She informed him. "So relax." A smile crossed her face as she looked back at him. "If you can… you don't cross me as they kind of person that likes to sit still though." She shrugged.
"Got that right." He grumbled, his legs already getting cramps from sitting still too long. He wanted to stretch and train and fight something. He needed to move. He stretched out in the back, and started doing a few minor workouts, anything to just, get his muscles moving and his blood flowing. Besides it was a good distraction from the woman driving. Raph started with some push-ups, sit-ups, and stretches, but the area was so small he couldn't really do much of the routines he was used to. After a while he poked his head up into the front beside her. "Any way to hurry this trip up?" He asked.
"Aw, you don't like spending time with me?" She asked him playfully, and Raph could have sworn he caught the hit of a blush on her face. "Don't worry, it's just a little further."
Nodding, Raphael looked out the windshield. The landscape had changed from that of the concrete and cinderblocks of the city to the flat marsh lands. Off in the distance, he could see a few large buildings and some kind of fenced in area, it looked like some kind of high-tech thing Donnie would love. "What's that?" He nodded towards it.
Jack chanced a glance. "That's the research center." She frowned. "If we can't find your brother out here, we can try our luck at getting close, but… I'm not sure how well that will work." Her grip on the steering wheel tightened, her knuckles turning white as she swallowed down the fear that came with that thought.
"No." Raph put his hand on the shoulder of her seat. "I'll go, you will stay right here." He could easily see the fear in her, he wouldn't dare put her in that situation.
"What?" She slammed on the breaks. Everything in the van went flying forward, including Raph. He let out a startled shout as he was thrown up front between the seats. With the car now stopped in the middle of the lonely road. Jack slammed it into park and turned to glare at him. "So what, I'm a bit scared. Those bastards killed my brother. But you are not about to leave me behind!" She flicked his forehead, cutting off his snarky response.
"Fine whatever." He wasn't so used to being at a loss for words. As he tried to unwedge himself from between the front seats, his hand slipped off the armrest of her chair and landed on her upper thigh. Eyes locking for a moment, both their faces were consumed with redness as Raph yanked his hand back. Looking away the male shoved himself back into the cargo hold of the van and shook his head to try and rid himself of the embarrassment.
Jack cleared her throat a bit and put the car in motion once more, ignoring the small blunder, he hoped. But almost as soon as the vehicle had started up again she slammed on the breaks and pulled the car to the side of the road. "Oh my god… Raphael…" She parked the car and unbuckled her seat belt, climbing out of the van before Raph even had an idea of what she had seen.
"Jack! Wait, hold on!...Shit." he scrambled out of the van and looked around. It was daylight, but there wasn't a thing around but that facility off in the distance a good fifteen miles away. He looked around for Jack and saw her climbing down the side bank of the road, heading down towards the four foot tall cat tails and weeds that were poking up out of the marshy lands. The plants almost swallowed the woman as she waded through them. There could have easily been a gator or something in the water and muck. "What the hell are you doing?" Raph finally got his feet to work through the sticky southern goo and caught up to her, a hand catching her arm. "Are you trying to get eaten by something?"
She looked up at him with one of the most serious expression he had ever seen. Then she pointed. Raph followed her direction and his heart dropped into his stomach like a lead weight. He saw a big green three fingered hand reaching up out of the water and clutching a handful of weeds.
"Leo!" Raph let Jack go as he ran to the other turtle's aid, splashing into the water, and reaching his…. Raphael froze as he reached the turtle's side. "You're not Leo." He mumbled. Apprehensively, Raphael turned the unconscious mutant onto his back to confirm what he already knew. This turtle was indeed not his missing brother. This one had paler skin than all the others, and a large starburst scar in the center of his chest marring the plastron, he looked younger, maybe a teen still. Raph ran a hand over his face and left out a frustrated grunt, not sure of what to do. "Damn it." He let out a sigh and hunched down next to the turtle to make sure he was still alive. He was breathing but barely.
"That's not Leo." Jack commented quietly.
"No… no he's not." Raph responded as he hooked his arms under the mystery turtle and hoisted him up with a grunt. "But he's coming with us. I'm taking him back to New York."
"What?" Jack asked, surprised as she followed him back up to her van. "But… why? What will that accomplish?"
"Well I can't just leave him to die here in the swamp can I?" He snapped. "And he's like me so… he should at least be around other people that won't be scared of him, wont treat him like he's a freak."
Jack opened the van door for him and helped him place the unconscious turtle inside, her shoulders were sagging though as her eyes looked up at him. "I'm not scared of you." She walked around to climb into the driver's seat. "And never did I think you were a freak."
Climbing in next to the other turtle, Raphael looked up at Jack as she started driving. "That's not…" He sighed and frowned. He never said the right thing.
"It doesn't matter. You can put him on the mattress and use the blanket to put under his head." She told him. "Do you have any idea why he is unconscious?"
Raph for once, obeyed and put the turtle on the small mattress and gave him the makeshift pillow. He was too big for it all, but at least it gave him some kind of support. To his guide's question Raph shrugged. "The scar looks new so he was probably in a fight."
The woman nodded to herself and kept on driving. "This is the area I told Leo about. So if he's still here, hopefully we can find him." She said after a while.
The red masked one didn't say anything; he just stared out the windshield, silently berating himself for his comment earlier. It clearly struck a nerve with the woman driving, but he wasn't sure how to make up for it. After a few hours of awkward silence Raph finally spoke. "Look, I didn't mean to imply that you felt that way I just… it's hard to find people that accept us for who we are. It's easier to stick together."
"I know." She said simply before looking over her shoulder. "It's just that, I'm not a fan of when people judge me for something I'm not. I know I'm not perfect, I'm clumsy, and I'm not the smartest, but I never judge others."
Raph felt a smile trying to tug its way onto his face. "I'm starting to see that." He reached over and mussed up her hair, receiving a small squeal of displeasure from her in response as she batted his hand away.
Then something thudded down on the hood of the van in a hard thud. The woman screamed as she jerked the wheel to the side too far, her heart pounding. Raph lashed out, his hand clamping down on top of hers, and turning the wheel straight as his other hand gently eased her leg up off the gas.
"Easy… easy… slow down." He whispered, his eyes flicked from her panic stricken face to the green figure that was glaring through the windshield at them. Raphael glared at his brother as he pushed the van into park. "Stay here." He let his hand linger on hers a moment until she nodded. Then he moved away and glanced in the back. The other turtle was still unconscious, motionless, except the small motions of breathing in his chest. Climbing out the side door Raphael grabbed his brother by the arm and yanked him off the front of the vehicle. "What the hell!"
Leo simply glared. "What are you doing here Raph? And why did you bring Jack?"
He could feel the anger boiling in his gut, but he had to keep himself from punching his elder brother. "The others were worried about you. I'm the only one that had the balls to come check on your ass." He shoved him a bit. "And the girl is here because she helped me find your missing pain in my ass. What the hell are you doing?"
"Working." He shoved back. "My phone broke. Tell Mona Lisa I'm fine." He turned to walk away. "I can handle this myself."
Raphael kicked his brother's shell and knocked him to the dirt. "Like hell you can!" Before Leo could right himself, Raph tackled him and they were a rolling swarm of tangled green limbs. "Do you know what the hell they are doing in there! Retromutagen?! Are you fucking kidding me! Trying to deal with that yourself!" He moved to punch him but it was of course blocked and he was tossed off easily.
"Like you'd want to do anything to help me!" Leo snapped at him, brushing dirt off of himself as he stood.
"What?!" Raphael nearly screamed in a rage. "You think I'm above helping my own brother when it comes to our family's safety?" Something crossed his face, a look of hurt perhaps? "I know I have a temper and I don't really follow rules, but do you really think I'm that shallow?" Raph shook his head and took a step back. "Mona came to me because I'd do something. I am the one here when we thought you were in trouble. Not any one else…. I know I'm a royal fuck up but damn… to think I'd actually abandon you when it counts." He turned and walked back to the van. He couldn't control his fist when it lashed out and punched the door, denting it. "Shit." He slid it some and tried to press the dent out, only half successfully.
"Raph, I never said you were a screw up."
"You didn't have to Fearless." Raphael snapped. "It's written all over your face." He slid the door to the van the whole way open revealing the turtle inside. "We found another turtle. I'm taking him home." Leo's eyes widened but Raph continued. "I can't abandon someone like us. Even if he's not family… I can't let someone like the Shredder get a hold of him. Besides, I thought if there was someone in the sewer that needed training it might get the family back in shape. Ya know… get everyone off their sorry asses and out of their rooms." He glanced in the van. "He might be what we need…" He was mumbling.
Leo stepped a bit closer, something close to regret on his face. "Look, I'm sorry for… that." They argued, it happened a lot, but most of the time, especially now, there was never any apologizing. Even if it wasn't specific. "But I have to stay here. Just a little longer. I have to see if Xanus has started to move his corporation to the new facility they built in New York. If they haven't started moving the mutagen could still be here…. If they have… then it'll be on the streets back home." He frowned. "He'll be in good hands though… with you. Just don't let Mikey do too many of his weird games, and make sure Donnie isn't too technical. Explanations are good, but he gets so long winded sometimes."
Raphael was surprised he was getting his brother's approval. And even more surprised when the blue masked turtle hugged him. "It's good to see you." He said softly before he let him go. "Don't go destroying the sewer while I'm gone." He waved and then disappeared into the brush and swamp leaving Raph standing there next to the van. He stared out at the spot his brother had been for a few long moments, unmoving.
A small pale hand landed on his arm causing him to turn and look down at Jack. She had heard everything, he was sure. "What?" He said a bit more roughly than he intended.
She pulled her hand away, frowning. "Are you okay?" She asked him, her bright eyes searching his features.
"Fine." He lied. There was a knot sitting in his gut unsure about the decision his brother had made. True he had found him, Leo was okay, but Raphael didn't like leaving him there alone to face this giant corporation. Then again, his brother seemed to entrust him with this new turtle's care, despite their bickering and tempers. It was a good sign right?
Raphael climbed in past Jack and sat down across from the other turtle, checking on him for a moment before he looked at the girl. What was he going to do with her now? He couldn't really help rectify her brother's murder now if he was going home…
"So now where are we headed?" Jack's voice brought him from his thought's and he realized he was staring straight at her.
Red faced, Raph looked away and cleared his throat. "Home for now." He rubbed his face with a sigh.
The blonde nodded and climbed into the front seat with out hesitation, she didn't really have anywhere else to be or go so she didn't much care. "Where's home?" She asked as she started the van and turned it around.
"New York City. We've got a long drive."